Feeling “disinformed” lowers compliance with COVID-19 guidelines: Evidence from the US, UK, Netherlands, and Germany

This study indicates that, during the first phase of the coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic in 2020, citizens from the US, UK, Netherlands, and Germany experienced relatively high levels of mis- and disinformation in their general information environment. We asked respondents to indicate the extent to which they experienced that information on coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2 and the disease it causes, COVID-19) was simply inaccurate (misinformation) or intentionally misleading (disinformation). Those who experienced misinformation were willing to seek further information and to comply with official gui... Mehr ...

Verfasser: Michael Hameleers
Toni G. L. A. van der Meer
Anna Brosius
Dokumenttyp: Artikel
Erscheinungsdatum: 2020
Reihe/Periodikum: Harvard Kennedy School Misinformation Review, Vol 1, Iss 3 (2020)
Verlag/Hrsg.: Harvard Kennedy School
Schlagwörter: covid-19 / disinformation / education / media literacy / public health / Information technology / T58.5-58.64 / Communication. Mass media / P87-96
Sprache: Englisch
Permalink: https://search.fid-benelux.de/Record/base-26800887
Datenquelle: BASE; Originalkatalog
Powered By: BASE
Link(s) : https://doi.org/10.37016/mr-2020-023

This study indicates that, during the first phase of the coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic in 2020, citizens from the US, UK, Netherlands, and Germany experienced relatively high levels of mis- and disinformation in their general information environment. We asked respondents to indicate the extent to which they experienced that information on coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2 and the disease it causes, COVID-19) was simply inaccurate (misinformation) or intentionally misleading (disinformation). Those who experienced misinformation were willing to seek further information and to comply with official guidelines. Individuals perceiving more disinformation—on the other hand—were less willing to seek additional information and reported lower willingness to comply with official guidelines.